The Magic of Architecture

“A great building must begin with the unmeasurable,
must go through measurable means when it is being designed
and in the end must be unmeasurable.”~ Louis Kahn

I believe that buildings, like chairs, are created – and exist – to fit our souls.

Even as souls are measureless, each one fits somewhere quite perfectly. Like genuine love and connection, the buildings in which our souls fit do not impose change or restriction. Rather, they grant us a space where we can unfold and transform, growing even more into who we truly are.

And…like the freedom only an embrace can offer, buildings that fit our soul offer a freedom which is so obvious and complete that it becomes almost unexplainable…a delightful, refreshing absurdity.

On a more formal note, architecture is both the creative process, and the sum of manifestations, by which the beautiful and the unmeasurable come to meet, and redeem, the useful and the necessary. Redemption through all that is offered, and all that is taught.

Like the secret (and unexpected) meeting of edges, the startling meandering of the familiar into the implausible, the mysterious understanding between arrogant elegance and conventional habit.

We rest, we learn – to dare explore, and also, to respect the mystery of beauty. We learn of darkness and light. Of all that is silent yet sings an ever-changing song the soul remembers and transforms into always a new song to be remembered.

And when we are not resting or learning, our humble human needs are tended to. Yes, those needs we often carry with much shame in the world. Which is why, perhaps the greatest happiness is finding there is no longer need for shame…discovering our wants and needs elegantly addressed in that spectacular, musical silence of good art, serving us and inviting us to serve it in turn.

It’s a dance – this translation of humanness into soulfulness, of soulfulness into form. And a great building, a successful building (or space), simply means the dance never stops.

PS. Thank you my dear gifted artist and friend Alina for inviting me to write a lil piece for your new blog – https://ofdetailsandotherwonders.wordpress.com/. I dared to sing a little with words today. And I laughed at the realization that I’ve always seen beautiful spaces and buildings as ‘dancing’. Even when I photograph them, they are never still.

Like this:

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Over longitudes, and latitudes, over tears and time she has found a moment to fly towards friendship. She writes words of love and inspiration. She celebrates, encourages, and inspires the inexperienced who loves the forbidden…I thank you my true friend Joanna.